Austrian Automobile Club (ÖAMTC) trusts in Retarus’ Secure Email Platform

Due in no small part to its high profile, the Austrian Automobile, Motorcycle, and Touring Club (ÖAMTC) has repeatedly been targeted by cyber criminals. In these attacks, email remains the main potential gateway. Hybrid working models, including working from home, have magnified the risk of falling victim to cyber threats. Consequently, the club had very stringent requirements for a new email security system. Not only was it essential to provide maximum protection against the latest generation of cyberattacks, but also to meet the highest requirements for data protection. With components such as Essential Protection, Advanced Threat Protection, and the patented Patient Zero Detection®, the Retarus Secure Email Platform provides comprehensive protection for the club’s infrastructure. The Retarus services were implemented in close consultation with the ÖAMTC, ensuring that the solution was perfectly aligned with their security requirements. For instance, a third-party encryption gateway which the automobile club had only recently put into operation was integrated into the overall solution.

Switching over from an on-premise infrastructure run by the association itself to Retarus’ cloud services has allowed the ÖAMTC to benefit immediately from a solution which is scalable at all times and generates no efforts nor costs for maintenance, freeing up valuable resources in the organization’s own IT department. As far as data protection is concerned, Retarus systematically follows a policy of processing all data locally in audit-ready data centers in Germany run by the company itself – fulfilling all GDPR provisions as well as the highest sector-specific standards and compliance requirements.

Routing the email traffic with Predelivery Logic

To actively route its email traffic at an early stage, the ÖAMTC is additionally using Retarus’ Predelivery Logic. This service, also a component of the Retarus Secure Email Platform, allows emails to be analyzed, optimized, and redirected according to predefined rulesets at the gateway stage. The automobile club especially appreciated the opportunity to identify emails based on their GeoIP. In this way, emails originating from a specific country can be identified and blocked – for instance if the current political situation makes it advisable to take the precaution of isolating all messages from specific regions or countries regardless of their content. Various other use scenarios based on individually configured rulesets are already in the pipeline.

Convincing and comprehensive security package

“The ÖAMTC is the partner for all questions around mobility – in everyday situations as well as emergencies. We simply can’t afford for our business-critical processes or even the entire infrastructure to fail or become unavailable,” explains Christoph Pertl, IT Security Officer at ÖAMTC. “With Retarus, the overall package was simply an excellent fit. In addition to the technical benefits offered by the Retarus Secure Email Platform, we were also impressed that the service was provided from German data centers in accordance with strict data protection requirements. Our decision to opt for Retarus was reaffirmed by the fact that the Retarus team supported us throughout the project with deep-rooted technical know-how and implemented our special requirements perfectly.”

“With this project, the flexibility of our platform becomes particularly evident. Thanks to our modular security components, which can be combined as required, the ÖAMTC can use precisely those functions it really needs,” adds Martin Hager, Retarus’ founder and CEO. “Our local experts were also able to integrate the pre-existing encryption gateway from a third-party provider both quickly and effortlessly. We are pleased that the ÖAMTC has opted for Retarus’ future-proof cloud services, which we continuously develop further and adapt to meet new security requirements.”

About Retarus

Retarus is a global provider of APIs, gateways, and applications for messaging and email management for business processes – with top performance, security, and data protection, provided from the company's self-operated data centers around the globe. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Munich, Germany, Retarus is owner-managed and proud of its innovation power. The company employs a staff of around 500 at 20 locations on four continents. Retarus' services are leveraged by the world's leading companies. The services are sold directly by Retarus or in close collaboration with selected partners. Analysts constantly commend Retarus' outstanding quality and reliability. More details: www.retarus.es

About ÖAMTC

The ÖAMTC (Austrian Automobile, Motorcycle and Touring Club) is the largest automobile club in Austria and an active participant in a global network of motoring associations. It is a financially independent and politically non-partisan association. For the ÖAMTC, the services provided to its members take center stage: The club is the point of contact for all questions around mobility – in everyday situations as well as emergencies – and promotes the interests of its members. To fulfill this mission, almost 4,000 employees are working to support people and mobility. The ÖAMTC runs 115 support centers, eight driving skills centers, a winter center, and 17 emergency rescue helicopter stations across Austria. Roughly 2.4 million members trust in the services of the ÖAMTC – on the road, when travelling, in their leisure time, and to represent their concerns in the political and public spheres. For more information: www.oeamtc.at